Shagya Arabian mare Mayana at her best
Jan, 2017Views
847
Likes
Awards
Member Selection Award
Contest Finalist in 800 Horses Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken at Haras Naturel du Plessis, a former stud farm for Barb-Arabien horses in France. This is where I'm at home. It's a very beautiful place but actually I would like to turn the whole property a 90° to have better light conditions at sunrise and sunset. For this photo we set up a fence in a bigger pasture. My position had to be low, so that the fence in the background is almost invisible and it looks like the horse is at liberty in a big space.Time
The photo was taken in October 2016, 5:30pm, the golden hour when the sun is shining. It was a cloudy day, but not completely over cast, so we took our chances.Lighting
As I had a cloudy day, I was hoping that I get a shot with the sun shining and dark gray /blue clouds in the back ground. For this photo it did not work out 100% the way I hoped. My camera settings: Shutter priority 1/500; f/2,8, ISO automatic, Exposure Bias 1/3 EFEquipment
For this shot I used a Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon 70-200mm F2,8L IS USM. For my horse photography I shoot 99% hand-held.Inspiration
First a have to say thank you to my girlfriend an her Shagya Arab mare for their support and being my models again and again. I wanted to try this new location set up and asked them to model for me. I had in mind to capture the mare in canter (which I got as well) and than the horse became very exuberant and started to rear. Luckily I was in the right position, my camera adjustments were set, I had just to push the release button.Editing
All my post processing for this photo I did in Lightroom only. For this photo it was done within a few minutes. First thing I always do is the profile lens correction. Then I did: Color Temp: 6200, Contrast +10, Highlights -74, Whites +57, Blacks -38, Clarity +29, Sharpening +89 by Radius 1,0 In the end I cropped the photo. Voilà, done!In my camera bag
For my horse photography I have two Canon 5D mark III, one with 70-200mm F/2,8L IS USM lens and one with the EF 300mm f/2,8 IS USM. I have fond the perfect bag from Think Tank where I can have both cameras (with their lenses and the lens hood mounted) next to each other ready for use. If you work around horse, you want to avoid changing lenses because a lot of dust and dirt if flying around all the time. For close ups I use the Canon 100mm macro lens. Next to spare batteries and memory cards I have a Hoodman hoodlupe in my bag. My eyes are not so great anymore, so I find it very useful , especially in bright sunlight.Feedback
As in every field of photography it is important to know you subject. A horse photographer You should be confident and familiar with horses. In fact you should know what they probably do next, not only to get great photos but even more important that everybody stays safe.
